AHS TSA receives $7500 grant from Verizon
The TSA poses with the check presented to them by Verizon
The AHS Technology Student Association (TSA) placed ninth at last year’s TSA national championship in the Animatronics competition. The winning creation was a fully automated, talking Teddy Bear engineered and programmed by AHS alum Berket Yeaneberhane and Le Thien Khoa and seniors Rasel Abutaa and Ammar Al-Khafah.
The team also placed in the top 60 in the Fashion Design competition out of 155 teams.
After school on October 22nd, the TSA received a $7500 grant from Verizon. Verizon took notice of the AHS TSA after their performance at the national competition, and continued to be intrigued by their current STEM projects.
“The technical education aspect of what Annandale was doing initially caught my eye,” Verizon representative Douglas Brammer said.
With this grant, Verizon aimed to help students grow in their technological and STEM studies.
“We believe technology can help prepare today’s students for success in STEM-related disciplines so Verizon is infusing technology into the classroom and creating opportunities that are changing the way teachers teach and students learn,” Brammer said. “Annandale High School’s Technical Education program and their membership with the Technology Student Association align with Verizon’s STEM initiate because they inspire students to pursue STEM education. The project-based learning experiences associated with the recently approved grant will foster critical thinking skills and entrepreneurship, and they will offer a hands-on way to expose students to STEM subjects.”
They also hope the grant will introduce more opportunities that will help students excel in the STEM field.
“Verizon’s approach to Corporate Citizenship is a philosophy we call ‘Shared Success’,” Brammer said. “It’s about leveraging our corporate values to create economic and social value. We believe there are tremendous opportunities to grow and innovate by applying our technologies to important social issues. In doing so, we create value for us and society.”
With the generous grant the TSA club received, they can explore and begin new and innovative projects.
“With this money we can now afford to go to more competitions to showcase our skills,” TSA sponsor Phil Harris said.
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